I receive a lot of voice mail. Maybe you do, too. Some folks leave nice and clear messages that are easy to understand. Others seem to be in quite a hurry, especially when they leave their phone number. When returning calls, I make a point of praising those who leave clear messages. And I encourage
Have you ever experienced lousy service in a restaurant or hotel and wished there was a way to improve customer service quality? Ever had the pain compounded by staff who obviously expect a “tip?” I wonder what inspires people to improve customer service quality: anticipating a tip at the end of an interaction, or responding
To keep your suppliers on their toes and keep their customer service quality high, try this smart tip I learned from the Group Purchasing Manager of Asia Pacific Breweries. Whenever he contracts to purchase items from more than one supplier, he gives one vendor 70% of the total purchase, while a second vendor gets 30%.
Hi Ron, I was having trouble with a set of tires I purchased for my automobile. The ride was rough and unacceptable. The store was willing to exchange the tires or give me a refund. However, it was not definite that the tires were actually the cause of my problem. Paul, the mechanic servicing my
Building strong partnerships is a “big business” concept. But it doesn’t have to be a big problem. It is fairly easy to measure customer satisfaction to find out what you could be doing better to build strong partnerships with those who have a direct impact on your business, or your life. You can initiate powerful
Partnerships are essential in our emerging digital age. Small players with good partnerships can grab precious market share from larger, established names and improve customer service quality at the same time. Digital commerce rewards innovation and collaboration, not old buildings and traditions. There are lots of examples of creative partnerships that benefit both business and
Delivering customer service excellence sometimes calls for striking partnerships with other providers. When two entities come together to please mutual customers, the results can be spectacular. One example of collaborative customer service excellence that comes to mind is a partnership between the Singapore Post Office and several computer companies. If you have a problem with
While it’s certainly true that frontline people are key drivers in customer service quality, they aren’t solely responsible for winning the race. Don’t forget the power of the “back-end” to bring home a victory! In every insurance company you’ll find actuaries, policy administrators, IT professionals and clerical support staff. These folks have little contact with
As the old saying goes, rules are made to be broken. In some cases, just bending them can make all the difference to improve customer experience and enhance business. Graham Harvey, author of “Seducing the Vigilante Customer,” told me this story of a general store owner who followed government policy “creatively” to solve a problem,
At a recent tourism industry conference, the participants explored how effective partnerships could help boost travel to their region. They, however, overlooked the importance of taking steps to improve customer satisfaction. A long chain of “travel partners” was involved, including national tourism boards, wholesalers, travel agents, airlines, hotels, taxis and transport companies, restaurants, tourist attractions,
